Page 21 of Push

My hands balled into tight fists. That man didn’t know the first thing about being in hell. Standing on the side of the road, helpless, with a baby, and the one person who’d promised to be there in good times and bad nowhere to be found—thatwas hell.

I hid the rage boiling my blood under a forced smile. I stepped closer. “Poor Toby.” My arms weaved around his neck, and I arched on my tiptoes so the ice of my voice would spear straight through his thick skull. When his body melted against mine with a false sense of relief, I whispered, “Too bad the lipstick all over your collar and right here under your ear proves you’re nothing but a fucking liar.”

Toby’s body went very still. He didn’t even breathe.

I patted his cheek. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, stud, I have all your shit to sell so I can erase you from my life.”

I shoved him away from me, and after I flipped him the bird, I stormed over to unlock the gate. Half an hour early, but who cared?

Let the revenge yard sale commence!

8

He Admitted the Truth

Toby

Gwen hadn’t changed thelocks.

Yet.

I breathed a sigh of relief when my key turned, and the front door clicked open. There was no point denying what I was doing. Plain and simple, I was escaping.

I didn’t want to face what was happening on my front lawn. Strangers squabbled over everything I owned. Gwen’s death glare begged me to challenge her in front of the angry horde. She itched to blow me apart with clever words. I only needed to give her an excuse to strike the match.

No, it was easier to run.

The stairs groaned under my feet as I bounded up two at a time. I was busting for the toilet, but I shot straight past the bathroom. Past the bedroom, too. My gaze locked on the door with baby jungle animals peeking out of swirls of green. One ofGwen’s weekend projects. She’d bribed Marnie to help her paint the nursery like the ones she’d seen on social media.

“Like a proper mum,” she’d said.

The door was cracked open, and the room was dark, only a splinter of the afternoon sun peeking through the gap in the monkey-print curtains. I pushed the door wider and slipped inside.

“Look who’s finally decided to show his face.”

Snap.

The toucan light on the nightstand flicked on, and the dull yellow glow of its beak revealed my sister. Tanya sat in the rocking chair, still wearing green doctor’s scrubs, her legs crossed and her white Crocs bouncing as she glared at me over the top of her e-reader.

“It’s a three-hour drive from our nation’s capital to Sydney,” she said. “Explain to me how I still made it here before you.” Her gaze dipped in a sharp once-over. “On second thought, maybe don’t bother.”

I didn’t. Years ago, the Great Revenge Hair Bleach had taught me never to argue with my sister. That war had started over who ate the last chocolate biscuit. It had ended with my mother huffing and puffing about what a moron I was all the way to the barber to fix the mess Tanya had made of my hair. I could’ve rocked those frosted tips, just sayin’.

I sidestepped Tanya’s glare and crept toward the crib. My fingers gripped the edge. I peered over. The chain wrapped tight around my heart finally loosened. I could breathe again.

Noah was safely snuggled up in a striped onesie, his butt in the air, and his thumb stuffed in his mouth. Gwen fretted when he slept on his tummy. Gently, I scooped him up and rolled him safely on his back. He grumbled and stretched his tiny fists above his head, but after a smack of his lips, he settled back to sleep.

He couldn’t see me, but I couldn’t help smiling when I ran my palm over his patch of blond, fuzzy hair. I’d never felt so relieved to see my little guy.

Tanya scoffed from the rocking chair. “Maybe you should wash the skank off before you touch the untainted skin of my precious nephew.”

“Precious nephew?” It was my turn to scoff. “You hate kids. The last time you saw Noah, you refused to hold him because you said you were scared of catching a case of the pregnants.”

Tanya lifted a shoulder. “Can you blame me for lacking any maternal instinct? We were raised by a viper. They abandon their eggs, you know.”

If only… “Did Gwen seriously ask you to look after NoBo?”

“Unlike our dear mother, your wife is a level-headed woman. She weighed up her options, and out of me and the artist, at least I have medical training.” Smirking, Tanya lifted her eyes to meet mine. “Who else do you think should look after your son? Perhaps…your mistress?”

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